Doris felt as if her body didn't belong to her anymore. She leaned into his touch when she should have shoved him away from her. She didn't belong to anyone, she never would. So why couldn't she say that to him? Her heart betrayed her, but she didn't have the mind to be mad about it.
"Answer me." He demanded. Doris nodded her head slowly and he seemed satisfied enough with her answer. His eyes trailed over her lips for a long moment, she swore he was about to kiss her right there in the falling snow. But he released her chin and started walking back to the camp.
"Wait." Doris hurried after him and gripped his sleeve. He looked down at her with raised brows. "You think you can claim me like an object and not even kiss me?"
She didn't give him a chance to respond. She gripped his shirt and forced him down to her, kissing him as hard as she could. He was tense under her hold, as if he was surprised at her for ever daring such a thing. It soon faded away.
William's hands gripped her hips and pressed her against him. He quickly took control of the kiss that she thought she had the upper hand on for once. She was foolish to think that when it came to William.
He turned them over and slammed her back against a nearby rock. Doris groaned when his tongue slid between her lips. Her back pressed into the cold stone, he moved her up a little and wrapped her legs around his waist so he could have better access at kissing her.
She felt ridiculous for ever rolling her eyes at characters in books that melted from just one kiss, but she now knew what that felt like. Her insides were ready to turn to mush as his hands slid up her back. She tangled her fingers in his hair and arched her chest against him.
Doris couldn't feel the cold. He heated her up like lighting a fire inside her. It would never be enough for her. A single kiss left her desperate for more. Her mind wanted him to lay her down and kiss every inch of her skin until she turned red.
She took his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. William groaned and thrusted his hips up into her, she almost moaned loud enough to send the birds flying from trees.
"If I'm yours, then you're mine." Doris whispered against his mouth. He gripped the back of her head and kissed her roughly. She didn't think it was possible to get addicted to the taste of someone's lips, but she would never recover now that she knew what he tasted like.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Doris broke apart from William instantly at the sound of Enzo's voice. He looked utterly amused to have caught them out in the cold. If she wasn't already burned from their kiss, her blush would have scorched the ground.
"Yes. You are." William said through his teeth. He gently put Doris down and she found it was quite hard to detach herself from him.
"I'm sure you'll find some time for that later, but you have to come with me to prepare for the blood promise." The amusement left his face altogether, Doris was surprised to see how serious he looked.
William glanced down at Doris before he nodded and followed Enzo back to the camp without a goodbye. Doris quickly looked around for any sort of rock to throw at his head, but sadly none were nearby.
Doris wandered back to the camp on her own and could almost feel the tension in the air as the hours dragged closer to the deal. She'd never witnessed something as serious as a blood promise, but it clearly was enough to set each of them off into their own nervous state.
Doris went to the kitchens and gathered herself some food before she hurried back to her own room. Even in their distracted minds, they still stared at her as if she was an enemy. She didn't want to find out what they thought once they realized what happened to Joseph because of her.
She expected William to have come back at some point before dawn, but he hadn't once showed. The hours ticked on and Doris had dozed off several times before she couldn't take it any longer. She had to see him before he did this, why didn't he want to see her?
Doris threw on a thick coat and opened her door a little. She peeked her head out, but no one was in the main courtyard. Not that she blamed them, it was an ungodly hour and she hated the smell of morning air.
Slowly, she slipped out the door and closed it behind her. She tried to listen for any sounds of life, but all she heard was wind that started to pick up. Every direction she turned was complete darkness. She wandered around the camp grounds and leaned by each door to see if William was in any of them, but all she heard was more silence-and the occasional snore.
It wasn't until she reached the edge of town when she saw the glowing light down the path. A large fire surrounded by dozens of cloaked figures, Doris moved closer to the trees and tried to get as close as she could without being seen. It was ridiculous that she wasn't invited to come. It bubbled a new rage inside her every time she thought about it. Why couldn't he just tell her why he didn't want her there?
Her inner wolf laughed a little as if she found Doris's rapid mood shifts amusing. She wanted to scream suddenly from the anger she felt.
Once she was close enough to hear what people were saying, she crouched down to keep out of sight. Hopefully William didn't scent her with all of these other people around. He hadn't once turned his head in her direction, she let out the breath in her throat when her eyes found him instantly.
"It's almost time." Mr. Hugh said. He looked more than irritated to be there, but at least he wasn't trying to stop it. Enzo stood tall and proud, he looked like a leader. Had they accepted him back as their own?
"I suppose we can start now." Enzo lifted a torch and put it near the fire to light. He held out his hand and William stepped up with a knife and sliced it neatly across his palm. Doris cringed at the scene, but Enzo seemed unaffected.
William cut his own palm and clasped it against Enzo's open wound. Silence surrounded them as well as a weird energy even Doris could feel. It made her skin prickled and left her stomach in knots. Was it supposed to feel this way? It felt almost, wrong.
"Prince William, do you swear to stay true to your word about the rogues? Do you promise to keep their lives in your best interest and not take advantage of this deal?"
"I do. I promise." William said. He sounded a bit pained as if Enzo was sucking the life out of him. But-no, that couldn't be so.
"Do you promise to always make sure the rogues are treated kindly once you are king?"
"I do." William said. She thought he looked as if he was about to pass out. Doris slowly stood and gripped the tree.
"Then we promise to back you and your journey to the crown. The rogues will support your leadership as long as you keep to your word." Enzo said and lifted their joined hands. Their blood dripped in the fire and turned it dark red. Enzo threw the red flame into the bigger fire and they all stepped back as it erupted into something wild and dangerous. Sparks flew in all directions as if it was furious at them.
Doris forced her eyes away from the horrible fire to find William clenching his chest, but he wasn't the only one. Every single rogue and royal guard was doing the same. One by one, they went down to the ground as if they were having a heart attack. Doris popped out from the trees and ran as fast as she could to get to William.
When he saw her, his eyes were terrified. "No! Get back!" He screamed.
She ignored his pleas and fell to his side. "William, what's happening?"
"You have to leave before it marks you too-" He groaned and clenched his eyes shut. Doris put her hands over his own but he only tried to force her away.
"Get out of here!" He said again.
"William! What is happening to you?" She didn't know what to do to help him, he looked as if he was fighting something internally-and then it hit her.
The blinding pain ripped through her body and sent her on the ground next to him. He reached out his hand to her, but it was too late.